What started out as a night celebrating Louise Underwood’s retirement from the Dardanelle School District soon turned into a night of mourning when Underwood suffered from a pulmonary embolism and died enroute to the hospital.

Cindy Roper, Underwood’s daughter, said she, her brother and her children will volunteer at Stuff the Bus to honor her mother, a woman who she has learned a lot about in the last year.

Roper said after her mother died she started going through all of her possessions from her 42 years as an educator.

“It was something that needed to be done anyway since she was retiring,” Roper said.

Roper said she still hasn’t finished going through all of Underwood’s belongings but has found things that surprised her.

“She was a little bit of a hoarder when it came to school supplies. You’d be surprised how many I still have,” Roper said.

Roper said one of the things that surprised her was how involved her mother was with giving back to the community. She said when she read about Stuff the Bus, she knew it would be a good way to honor her mother.

“I’ve learned so much about her that I wish I would have known when she was alive,” Roper said. “She always gave back, and I guess this is my way of giving back for her.”

Roper said volunteering for Stuff the Bus is just the first venture to honor Underwood. After contacting the Dardanelle schools, Roper said they will conduct a school supply drive at Dardanelle Walmart on Saturday and Sunday evening.

“Since that’s where mom dedicated her life to, I wanted to collect supplies for Dardanelle schools too,” Roper said.

Roper said she has other plans to keep Underwood’s legacy as an educator alive.

“Eventually I want to start raising money for a scholarship in her honor,” Roper said.

The family will volunteer for Stuff the Bus today from 6-8 p.m. Buses will be parked at Walmart in both Clarksville and Russellville from 5-8 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“Everyone has a different motivation for volunteering ... for the family of Louise Underwood, it’s an opportunity to remember and memorialize someone by helping out in a way that is meaningful to them,” Beth Latham, executive director of River Valley United Way, said. “Mrs. Underwood’s whole life was dedicated to education, and obviously her family has recognized that helping us provide the tools students need to succeed is the perfect way to honor her legacy.”

Latham said families in need of school supplies should contact the school where the student is enrolled.

“School district representatives will pick up supplies from the bus in Russellville and take them straight to their districts to distribute to students in need,” Latham said. “Clarksville supplies are distributed by their Junior Auxiliary School Store program.”

Latham said some school supplies will be available at some United Way partner agencies for individuals who are already clients.